


hold me, it's cold

by westofmoon



Series: Rowaelin winter drabbles [7]
Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kissing in the Snow, Modern AU, Snowed In, cutesy date night, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21840520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westofmoon/pseuds/westofmoon
Summary: "Why is it so cold?"Days 1 and 13 of my 17 Days of Rowaelin Drabbles.
Relationships: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien & Rowan Whitethorn, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien/Rowan Whitethorn, Rowaelin - Relationship
Series: Rowaelin winter drabbles [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543741
Kudos: 37





	1. hold me, it's cold

**Author's Note:**

> Parts 1 and 2 posted together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 1

“Why is it so _cold_?” Aelin grumbled through chattering teeth, sending a puff of steam into the air in front of Rowan’s face. He glanced down at her as she bounced on her toes in an effort to stay warm, and a small smile tugged at his lips. 

It was Orynth’s annual Winter Carnival and they had been outside for hours, browsing the little pop-up stalls selling goods and food, playing the carnival games and listening to the holiday music pouring out of shops as they waited in the square for nightfall, when the giant tree in the center of town would be lit, signifying the start of the holiday season. 

Rowan normally didn’t care for these sorts of events. But Aelin did, and he would do just about anything if it meant spending time with her. She was his best friend. And he was completely and utterly gone for her. 

Befitting the celebration, the weather had turned colder the night before and it had snowed, covering the town in a layer of white. And the snow was still falling.

It was beautiful, it really was. But it was also taking a toll on all of the people attending the festivities. Aelin included.

Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were rosy from the cold air and Rowan thought it made her even more beautiful than usual. 

“You’re cute when you’re freezing,” he teased, hoping she didn’t hear just how serious he was. 

Aelin responded by sticking her tongue out at him. But then she eyed him, pursing her lips as her eyes traveled up and down his much taller frame appraisingly. And then she smirked, and he could have sworn her cheeks darkened slightly. “Hold me so I can get warm.” 

Rowan blinked, his face heating. Gods, he hoped she thought it was just the cold.

“Please, Rowan?” she whined.

He could only nod, unable to speak with the way his pounding heart stole the breath from. Before he had even finished nodding, she plastered herself against him, causing him inhale sharply. 

Aelin’s arms slipped under his unzipped jacket and around to his back, gripping his shirt. Rowan swallowed, trying not to think about how close she was, the way she felt pressed up against him like this. 

“You’re so _warm_ ,“ she moaned. “It’s like hugging a heater.” With a breathy sigh, she nuzzled her face against his chest, right over his racing heart. 

Very carefully, Rowan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer so she could stay warm. Even though being this close to her… Every time, it became more difficult to let her go again.

She turned her head so her ear was pressed to his chest, almost as if she were listening to his frantically beating heart. He wondered if she _could_ hear it. What she would make of it.

After a few minutes of standing there together, holding each other, Aelin slid her hands back around to his front and slipped her fingers under the hem of his shirt. He jumped at the touch, but it had little to do with her cold fingertips on skin, and a strangled gasp caught in the back of his throat. 

He looked down at her nervously, and found her already looking up at him with a little smile. But then her eyes dipped to his lips. Slowly, her turquoise and gold gaze rose back to his, and Rowan stopped breathing. 

He couldn’t move as she rose onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. His heart lurched, every atom of his being seemed to ignite at the soft touch. His skin was burning hot enough to keep them both warm for the rest of the winter. Rowan was honestly surprised the snow around them wasn’t melting.

Of their own accord, his fingers uncurled from where they were clutching the back of her coat and instead tangled in her hair, pulling golden strands free of the loose, messy braid that tumbled down her back. Aelin’s own hands slid across his chest and up over his shoulders.

After what felt like an eternity, Aelin pulled back, looking up at him with an almost hesitant smile. For several heartbeats, Rowan could only stare.

And then he moved, pulling her to him again as his lips claimed hers once more.

They became so lost in each other, standing there in the falling snow, that neither of them even noticed when the tree was finally lit.


	2. snowy date night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when I was writing this, I didn’t have anything specific in mind but it could work as a follow up to both ‘hold me, it’s cold’ or 'mistletoe/snowed inn'. So it's posted both places.
> 
> Day 13.

Aelin fastened her earring as she walked over to the window in her and Rowan’s bedroom and glanced out at the snow that continued to fall without respite. In the span of time it had taken her to shower and get dressed, everything outside had turned white, the roads stretched on like smooth ribbons into the distance, unmarred by tire tracks of any kind.

Glancing out across the city from their apartment window, she saw that the rest of Orynth looked the same. No one was venturing out, not even the snowplows.

She sighed. It looked like their dinner reservation was going to have to be cancelled. There was no way they would be able to get the car out of the garage and onto the street, and even if they could, the roads were likely much too dangerous to travel. 

Aelin wandered towards the bedroom door but stopped for a moment to glance at herself in the mirror. The deep crimson dress that fell to her knees, with its long fitted sleeves and sheer back of black lace. Her golden hair had been twisted into an elegant braided bun, held in place with bejeweled hair combs. The makeup she had painstakingly done to perfection. All that hard work for nothing. 

With another sigh, she padded down the hall on bare feet, looking for boyfriend. She found Rowan in the kitchen, staring out the window. His fingers drummed nervously on the kitchen counter, mouth set in a hard line as he glowered at the grey sky above, as if he could _make_ the snow stop falling by sheer force ofwill. 

She sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his upper arm. “Looks like our fancy date night will have to be postponed,” she said lightly, trying to keep the disappointment out of her tone. They had had this reservation for months, and she had really been looking forward to it.

Rowan groaned softly, and when she looked up at him, he looked so deeply troubled by the development that she blinked. “I’m sorry, fireheart,” he grumbled, sounding disheartened. 

Aelin eyed him. Going out to eat at fancy restaurants was something Rowan wasn’t particularly fond of, so she didn’t quite understand why he was so disappointed. 

Still, she lifted a hand to his jaw and turned his face so he would look at her. “It’s fine, babe. It’s not your fault that you can’t control the weather.” And then she rose onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to his jaw, his chin, his lips. And then she smiled. “I have a better idea of something else we can do anyway.”

Rowan arched a silver brow.

~*~

They both changed out of their dinner finery and into much comfier clothing, Rowan into sweats and one of his favorite old band tees and Aelin into holiday themed thermals and knee socks, much to Rowan’s amusement. After, Aelin sent Rowan into the kitchen to call in and cancel their reservation, and to prepare some snacks and hot chocolate while she set to work on her plan.

When she was finished, she took a moment to admire her handy work before calling out to her boyfriend, “Okay, you can come back in now.”

Rowan wandered into the living room, carrying a ginormous bowl of popcorn, and stopped dead in his tracks, his green eyes widening slightly. 

She had turned off all of the lights except for the Yulemas tree, the soft light giving the room flickering, romantic glow, and to add to the effect, she had even brought out several battery-powered candles, setting them on the coffee table and fireplace mantel, and all over the floor around the nest she had made out of pillows and blankets in the space between the couch and sofa chair. More blankets were draped over the backs and arms of the furniture, effectively creating a little blanket cave. She even had a little movie marathon lined up on the tv, ready and waiting to press play on the remote.

A slow smile spread across Rowan’s handsome face as he made his way across the room to where she stood. 

“It’s no romantic dinner at a five star restaurant but…” she shrugged.

“Fireheart,” he breathed softly, voice full of awe. “It’s perfect. _You_ are perfect. You know that, right?” His face was lit up with such an adoring expression. 

She gave him a cheeky grin. “Of course I do. It’s just one of the _many_ reasons you love me.”

Rowan shook his head, smiling, as he leaned down to kiss her. Once, twice, three times. And just for good measure, he nipped the end of her nose as he pulled back, causing her to bat her hands at his face. 

“Now, buzzard… let’s have a date night!”

And so they did, curling up in Aelin’s pillow fort with hot cocoa and popcorn and chocolates to watch cheesy, holiday romcoms. It was perfect. Far better than any date at a restaurant, because it was just the two of them.

They had long since finished off the food and were now just lying back amidst the pile of pillows. Aelin curled into Rowan’s side, nestling her head in the curve of his shoulder. He had wrapped his arm around her to hold her close as they watched the latest movie in their marathon.

She was so absorbed by the sweet love confession playing out on the screen, her eyes tearing up, that she was only vaguely aware that Rowan was watching her more than the movie. Hardly noticed as he slipped a hand into the pocket of his dark green sweats to pull something out. 

And then, so softly the words were barely more than a breath, he whispered, “Marry me, fireheart.”

Aelin’s lips parted and she turned to look up at him in confusion. She was certain she had misheard him. That she only _thought_ she heard what she thought she heard because of what was going on in the movie.

But his heartbreaking pine green eyes were on her face and the look they held was so soft, so serious and full of love, that it stole her breath from her lungs. “What?” she rasped out.

“Marry me,” he repeated, his voice a low rumble, and then he sat up. Aelin moved over, turning to face him as he held a little box up between them, opening it to reveal a rectangular cut emerald set on a gold band. 

She could only gape at him, eyes widening in shock. So she hadn’t been mistaken about what she heard. And he… Her hand lifted to cover her mouth as realization dawned on her, the tears finally escaped her eyes to spill down her cheeks. “That… That’s why you were so-” Her heart was pounding so wildly that it stole the words from her. 

Rowan nodded, swallowing hard. He continued to watch her closely, gauging her reaction. He looked terrified. Silly man. Didn’t he know that he had nothing to be terrified of?

“Aelin,” he began, “I know it-”

She didn’t give him a chance to finish, or even really begin, interrupting what was sure to be a beautiful speech that would have reduced her to a sobbing mess by grabbing his face in her hands and pulling him down to claim his lips in a searing kiss. Rowan’s arms wrapped around her waist to pull her closer, mindful of the ring box still in his hand.

Aelin pulled back only far enough to murmur against his lips, “Yes." 

"Yes?” he blinked, as if he were actually surprised at her answer. As if there were any other possible answer she could give. 

She smiled against his lips and repeated, “Yes.” She kissed him again, and again, tears staining her cheeks once more. And they might have been her own, or his, or both. 

Slowly, and reluctantly, Rowan pulled away. With surprisingly steady hands, he took the ring from the box and slid it on the third finger of her left hand. And then he kissed the backs of her fingers, and then her knuckles. And then he was kissing her mouth again, whispering his love for her against her lips, breathing it into her heart and soul. 

As the night went on, Aelin couldn’t help but laugh as she thought about how this was like a real life holiday romance movie, but so, _so_ much better.

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on tumblr, @westofmoon. I post snippets there. 
> 
> I do not consent to this work being hosted on any unofficial apps or to any other websites.


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